Ranma Nibunnoichi copyright Shogakukan / Takahashi Rumiko

Quiet Sides presents

A Fanfiction by S³

Three Candles

Part One

Defeat had never been part of the plan. Not on such a routine mission, not here and most certainly not

now. Wiping the sweat from his eyes with a tired arm he took a shallow breath, trying not to cough on

the acrid stench that wafted in from the west. Gathering himself one last time, he rooted his stance and

cleared his mind. The bodies of the fallen soldiers that littered the ground ceased to exist in his mind's

eye. All that remained was the last and perhaps greatest obstacle to his victory, Bai He.

His sword lay forgotten, impaled through a random soldier during the last wave. If he survived,

then he would go back for it. For now, the great weapon would have meant little in the coming

struggle. Bai He was not only a formidable swordsman, but an accomplished unarmed fighter as well.

Rumor had it that Bai He had defeated twenty armed men with his bare hands alone. Although it was

something than more than one fighter could claim, Bai He was said to have had his hands bound

together at the time. Such a fight would have been a spectacle to behold.

Already he could feel it, this match would be like nothing he had experienced before. Gathering

himself to his fullest, Lu Xiao Feng, Master of the Lingxei Finger Style sprang forward to meet his

attacker head on. The dawning sun broke over the smoldering ruins of the town just as Bai He

countered the opening blow.

As the battle waged in earnest, Lu Xiao felt something change. A subtle shift in the atmosphere

that wasn't there before. Sweat beaded his brow as he brushed aside a flurry of powerful strikes.

Through the onslaught, he caught an opening in Bai He's subtle defenses. Twin strikes lanced out to

catch a surprised Bai He off guard for but a fleeting moment. Both men were driven apart with the

force of the blow, Bai He reeling ever so slightly from the double-fisted attack.

During the precious respite, the disturbance in the air became more readily apparent to the

combatants. Lu Xiao raised a palm in warding, as the small hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Bai

He drew himself back up, acknowledging the truce. He too could tell something was about to happen,

something possibly very wrong.

However, neither man was truly prepared for what occurred before their very eyes. With a

singularly powerful rush of air, the space just meters above the two spiraled together in an inverted

funnel. Dust, dead leaves and loose objects were drawn upward seconds later, vanishing into the

tempest.

Struggling, the two rivals sought to escape the increasing pull. Though, with nothing left to give

them purchase, they quickly succumbed to the ravenous power of the maelstrom. Unabated, the

anomaly continued for some time, before dying down. When it finally dispersed, the only sign of either

warrior was a tattered piece of cloth that drifted lazily down to the ground. A piece of Lu Xiao Feng's

shirt.